Blobfish voted planet’s ugliest creature (pic)

The deep-sea-living blobfish was voted the world’s ugliest animal, for obvious reasons.

Scientifically dubbed Psychrolutes marcidus, the goopy marine creature resembles a grumpy old man or a translucent Jabba the Hut.

A British organization called the Ugly Animal Preservation Society ran a campaign to raise awareness for endangered ugly animals by having the public vote for its new mascot. Of the 3,000 votes cast, 795 were for the homely, dejected-looking blobfish.

With so many species teetering close to extinction, including the blobfish, the organization says people need to learn to appreciate the aesthetically challenged as much as the cuddly and adorable (sorry, pandas, you’ve had your share of the spotlight).

“We’ve needed an ugly face for endangered animals for a long time and I’ve been amazed by the public’s reaction,” Simon Watt, the society’s president, tells the Guardian. “For too long the cute and fluffy animals have taken the limelight, but now the blobfish will be a voice for the mingers who always get forgotten.”

Runners up in the contest were:

The kakapo, a giant flightless parrot in New Zealand with virtually no natural defense against predators.

The axolotl, a slow-to-age salamander that can re-grow its own limbs.

The Titicaca, a water frog with a funny name that’s also goes by the unfortunate term of “aquatic scrotum frog”.

The proboscis, a monkey with a ridiculously large nose and a gas problem from eating unripe fruit.